Nuro, a company backed by Uber, just received an updated permit to start testing its self-driving Lucid Gravity robotaxis on public roads in California. This is a big step for Uber, which plans to put 100,000 driverless cars on US streets, with up to 35,000 of them using Nuro’s technology. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that they expect to begin fully driverless testing later this year.
Nuro, also supported by NVIDIA and Toyota, has become an important player in the world of robotaxis and self-driving cars. They already have a permit from the California DMV for driverless deliveries using their R3 Nuro Robot vehicle. At CES 2026 in January, Nuro and Uber showed off their robotaxi design, which uses the three-row Lucid Gravity electric SUV. This vehicle will have many sensors, including high-resolution cameras, lidar, and radar, along with an LED display on the roof. Inside, riders will even get fancy features like heated seats they can control.
Up until now, Uber and Nuro have only tested the Lucid Gravity electric vehicles with a human safety driver behind the wheel, and only Uber employees could ride in them. However, the new permit changes that. It allows the companies to test these vehicles without any human operators, both day and night, at speeds up to 45 mph in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Nuro has also been testing its Lucid robotaxis in Tokyo, but with human drivers as a backup there.
Yesterday, Lucid announced during its earnings report that it plans to launch the robotaxi service “later this year.” The electric vehicle maker also shared that Uber has increased its investment in Lucid to $500 million and boosted its order for vehicles from 20,000 to 35,000 cars. Before they can start offering rides to the public, Nuro and Uber will still need to get special permits for ride-hailing and a deployment permit from the DMV.
